Would you like to follow Beatrice?

Beatrice is back. Stored in the attic for almost a century, the lovely Beatrice with its long literary (Shakespeare, Dante) and royal history is being looked at with fresh eyes by parents (such as Paul McCartney, BryceDallasHoward) seeking a classic name with character and lots of upbeat nicknames, like Bea and Bee. It was on the rise in 2013, and will likely continue to climb the charts from its current spot at Number 593.

Nickname Bea actually stood alone on the popularity lists for four years at the beginning of the twentieth century--and it could happen again. Bea is sleek and modern, while Trixie sounds vintage and sassy -- though if you favor Trixie, you may want to consider the Beatrix version of the name. What's the difference between the two? Beatrix is reminiscent of watercolorist and children's author BeatrixPotter and has that surprising x ending, while Beatrice feels gentler and more classic.

The Duke and Duchess of York, aka Fergie and PrinceAndrew, thrust Beatrice back into the public eye when they chose it for their older daughter in 1988. The name can be pronounced with two syllables, a bee- or beh-tris; with three, as in bee- or bay-ah-tris; or, as the Italians say it, with a magisterial four: bay-ah-TREE-chay.

Beatrice was the name of QueenVictoria's youngest child. And in Dante's great poem The Divine Comedy, Beatrice is his guide through Paradise and is idealized as the embodiment of the spirit of love. In Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice is the witty, high-spirited heroine.

Other names that mean happiness: Felicity and Hilary, either of which would make a good twin or sister name for Beatrice.

Famous People Named Beatrice

Pop Culture References for the Name Beatrice

Beatrice, character in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing"
Beatrice "Tris" Prior, main character in the Divergent Trilogy
Beatrice "Beezus" Quimby, character in novels by BeverlyCleary and movie "Ramona & Beezus"
Beatrice Carbone, character in ArthurMiller's "A View from the Bridge"
Beatrice Rappaccini, character in NathanielHawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter"
Beatrice Baudelaire, character in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Beatrice Rumfoord, character in Kurt Vonnegut's "The Sirens of Titan"
Beatrice Severn, character in GrahamGreene's "Our Man in Havana"
Beatrice "The Bear" Leep, character in Carl Hiaasen's "Hoot" and 2006 movie
Beatrice, character in manga/anime "Gunslinger Girl"
Beatrice the Golden Witch, character in doujin game "Umineko: When They Cry"
Beatrice Middleton, character in "Ishmael" and "Self Raised" by E.D.E.N. Southworth
Beatrice Grimaldi, princess character in the Gossip Girl series
Beatrice Hotchkiss, character in the NancyDrew computer game series
Beatrice, demon in video game "Wild Arms 3"
Beatrice, character in Kingsley's "REALLY B, REALLY" YouTube videos
Beatrice Russo, character in movie "Il Postino: The Postman"
Beatrice Stanhope, character in movie "George of the Jungle"
Beatrice "Bea" Grunwald, character on TV's "Ravenswood"Juniper Beatrice "Junie B." Jones, title character of Junie B. Jones books
Beatrice, character in animated series "Over the Garden Wall"

Pop Culture References for the Name Beatrice

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